Many new and existing industrial machines such as air compressors and the like have communication ports permitting devices such as personal computers to be attached to the machines for monitoring the performance of the machines and controlling the operation of the machine. Conventionally, specialized software is provided to permit the computers or other devices to communicate with the machine. While there are several “standards,” none of the standards has been universally adopted. Further, none of the standards are not compatible with one another. Past and existing solutions to enabling remote communication and control of industrial equipment can be categorized into the following:                (i) Adopt an open and de-facto protocol for a communication port.        (a) The Modicon Bus (MODBUS) protocol, was created in 1978 by Modicon as a way for transferring control data between controllers and sensors using an RS232 port. Since the introduction, MODBUS has become a de-facto industry standard used by multiple control and sensor companies as their protocol for exchanging data with other devices. Currently, MODBUS protocol claims to be the most supported protocol amongst Industry Automation devices. The primary use of MODBUS is to transfer discrete/analog I/O and register data between control devices. It is important to note that MODBUS is a low-level communications protocol that specifies as set of functions and data registers.        (b) The LONWORKS platform created by Echelon Corporation is another open protocol. In 1994 Echelon published guidelines for interoperability of networked devices in buildings, factories, transportation systems and homes based on the Lonworks Control Network (LONWORKS). Since launch Echelon has also applied LONWORKS for used in Industrial Automation applications as the field and sensor bus for control.        (ii) Built-in remote access directly into the control panel.        (a) The WebMaster water treatment controller from Walchem Corporation employs the built in remote access. In this approach, a modem and an embedded web server are integrated into the WebMaster Controller. The operating state and parameters of the controller are remotely accessed by first dialing up the controller using the built-in POTS modem. Once the connection is established, the embedded web server in the controller serves up web pages for viewing and modifying the parameters of the controller.        (b) The electronic control panel used by Capstone Microturbine Corporation on their power generation system. The communication port in Capstone's control panel can be directly connected to a POTS modem for remote access. The control panel is capable of responding to commands and queries into internal registers using protocol proprietary to Capstone.        (iii) Custom developed remote monitoring and management software/hardware solution in accordance to particular equipment specifications.        (a) An example of the custom developed solution CentryCLC and CentryPCS control system by Connected Energy. In this approach, remote connection is enabled by a solution specifically developed to a collection of equipments installed at a specific site. In the instance where the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) control panel does not provide a communication port, the CentryCLC replaces OEM control panel with a microprocessor-based industrial controller programmed specifically to operate the equipment according to equipment's specification. A communication port is included in the replacement controller supporting an open protocol such as MODBUS. A separate system such as the CentryPCS is deployed connecting to the communication port of the controller to provide the remote communication and control access.        
However, there is a need for an interface that can be connected to a large number of different, new or existing, industrial machines to provide for remote monitoring and control of such machines. To be practical, an interface must be standardized so that the interface can be manufactured relatively inexpensively in large numbers, while at the same time the interface must be sufficiently versatile to be connected to many different types of industrial machines, wherein the individual machines may have incompatible systems.
For example, a common aspect of the remote monitoring and control of machines is writing of data into registers or other memory storage. Except for the above-mentioned standards, there is little consistency either in the locations at which the information is stored or in the format in which the information is stored. Without knowing both the format and the location of the information, remote monitoring and control is impossible.
There is a also a need for a device to connect machines to a communications channel that can be adapted to the particular configuration of the machine while using common hardware, without requiring that the hardware be customized for each machine.
Industrial equipment outfitted with an electronic control panel often includes a serial communication port. The purpose of this communication port is to provide electronic access to the internal states and operating parameters governing or representing operation of the equipment. However, there is a general lack of standardization in accessing data through the communication port. Variability spans from electrical signaling levels, to data locations, to how data is formatted to represent the operating state or a parameter of the equipment. Users/operators of the equipment must rely on a proprietary software/hardware solution from the equipment manufacturer to access the communication port. User/operators of industrial equipment from different manufacturers are faced with buying and using different software/hardware combinations to access the varied electronic control panels.
There is a need for a remote monitoring and management solution that can be economically and rapidly configured to accommodate wide variety of industrial equipment from different manufacturers. In addition, the solution must enable the acceptance and adoption of remote monitoring and management of industrial equipment.
The existing art has not solved this problem because the prior solutions were not sufficiently configurable to be an economical and rapidly deployable solution to accommodate the differences in the implementation.
Specifically, open protocols are inadequate to fully isolate the differences in real-world implementation within the equipment control panel to be a true standard.
Even with protocols such as MODBUS and LONWORKS, there are still substantial variations in real-world implementations. For example, in the MODBUS protocol the location of the data and its format are not standardized. Manufactures are free to use the MODBUS protocol and have defined their own intent and use of the data registers. The end result is a vast array of higher-level implementations using the lower level MODBUS protocol yielding additional proprietary remote control and monitoring communications methods.
Therefore the current de-facto protocols cannot be relied upon to enable remote monitoring and management for a wide variety of equipment without making accommodation to the variability in equipment implementation. These solutions are specific to a specific site and applicable only to a particular collection of equipment types and models. This solution was not intended, and is not a sufficiently configurable without requiring significant alterations. That is, each new site with a different collection of equipment will require another custom developed solution.
The present invention is adaptive to the variations in use by manufacturers of the MODBUS, LONWORKS, and other low-level protocols via the present interface allowing programmability and rapid configuration. The invention is sufficiently configurable so that a common hardware device can be configured to adapt to a different collection of equipment varying by type and model.